Two Female Ugandan Artists Battling Coronavirus in London

Lawala told URN in a WhatsApp interview on Monday that she was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but was stable. She also disclosed that her son, Oscar Acellam is battling the same disease he contracted last week.

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Two female Ugandan artists from Pader district based in
London are battling for their lives after contracting Coronavirus Disease-COVID19.
Jennifer Lawala and Roselyn Storms Otim were diagnosed with the deadly virus
last week.

Lawala told URN in a WhatsApp interview on Monday that she
was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but was stable. She also
disclosed that her son, Oscar Acellam is battling the same disease he
contracted last week.

Lawala is the widow of Dr. Labeja Acellam, a medical
doctor in Lewisham in the United Kingdom who succumbed to the same disease a
week ago. Roselyn Otim also told URN that she is battling the deadly
disease at her home.

The two renowned Acholi female artists left for the United
Kingdom in the early 2000`s at the peak of the Lord`s Resistance Army-LRA insurgency. They composed songs in Acholi directed to console Joseph Kony,
the commander of the Lord`s Resistance Army rebels to return home and abandon
the insurgency because the Acholi people were suffering.

They also praised
Acholi culture and tradition in their songs, which they said make them proud. Roselyn Otim also composed a song commemorating the heroic
death of Dr. Matthew Lukwiya who succumbed to the Ebola endemic in the course
of duty at Lacor Hospital.

The two artists asked people back in Acholi land and
Uganda at large to adhere to government`s directives aimed at containing the
spread of the disease. Gilbert Olanya, the General Secretary Acholi Parliamentary
Group told URN that they are in constant contact with the two artists to monitor
their condition and consoling them to remain strong during this trying moment.

United
Kingdom has 47,806 confirmed COVID19 cases with over 4000 deaths. Uganda has 52 confirmed cases and hasn’t registered
any deaths.

Emmy Daniel Ojara is a young journalist and has been practicing since 2013, during which he covered land rights violation in the contested Apaa and Lakang in Amuru as his first take ups while at Gulu Fm, Favor Fm and later Paidha Fm and Speak Fm where he is still attached.

Human rights abuses and denied access to land by security and government agencies has been the major aftermath of the contest over the lands. The underprivileged such as women, children and the elderly faced challenges in accessing soc